Tag Archives: Fredericks

I enjoy finding stories of pioneer women, as they give me some idea of the lives lived by my own pioneering female ancestors. March Passing of the Pioneers introduces a plucky pioneer, Elizabeth Cole (Mrs E. Dalziel). Elizabeth and another pioneer, Annie Alexander both made their mark in rolls not traditionally considered the domain of women. Among the passing gentleman, I enjoyed the story of John McClounan, a well travelled pioneer.

Mr John Lang CURRIE: Died March 11, 1898 at St Kilda. John Currie was a Western District pastoralist. He was born in Selkirkshire, Scotland in 1818 and came to Australia in the 1840s and purchased Larra Estate near Camperdown in 1844. He later bought Tintanga and Gala Estates. He bred merino sheep known for the high quality of their wool. For more information, his biography is on the Australian Directory of Biography site.

John McCLOUNAN: Died March 2, 1902 at Green Lake. John McClounan was born in Scotland in 1832, but left when he was 21. But not straight to Australia. He first travelled to America were he spent seven years and then on to New Zealand for around six years. He and his brother, his travelling companion, then moved to the goldfields of N.S.W. and then to Victoria and Deep Lead near Stawell. They gave up on mining and moved to Green Lake to farm. It was on this property John died, forty years later. He was unmarried.

Mrs James DAVIDSON: Died March 1907 at Warrnambool. Mrs Davidson was “another pioneer “Mother of Israel”” lost to the Western District. At 91, her husband had died 46 years before and according to the obituary, she “trained up five sons and four daughters to man and womanhood”

John Henry OLIVER: Died March 23, 1909 at Horsham. John Oliver was the brother-in-law of Jonathon and Reuben Harman. The obituary states John arrived in Melbourne with his family in 1848. It was in fact 1849 aboard the “Courier“. John had spent time around Byaduk where his family settled, however he bought land at Sailors Home near Dimboola in the early 1870s. After a stroke, John did return to Byaduk trying to regain his health, but he eventually returned to the Wimmera to live out his last months.

Mr W.S. WARD: Died March 14, 1913 at Ballarat. On arrival at Geelong in 1857, Mr Ward headed straight for the goldfields of Ballarat. He mined the “Hit and Miss” shaft at Creswick before taking time of mining to run the coach on the Ballarat-Buninyong Road. The lure of gold was too great and he headed to the goldfields of N.S.W. and one time drilled for coal in Gippsland.

Margaret CAMPBELL: Died March 10, 1914 at Casterton. Margaret arrived at Portland with her parents in 1855 after sailing aboard the “Athleta” . She married Donald Ross in 1857. She was around 26. They moved to Hamilton, then Sandford before settling in Casterton on the corner of Jackson and Clarkes Street in the house both Margaret and Donald died about 50 years later.

James FERGUSON: Died March, 1914 at Beulah. Scottish born James was one of the early settlers at Beulah and was known around the town as “The Laird”. He was one of the first representatives of the newly formed Karkarooc Shire in 1896. In 1908, he travelled to England and visited the place of his birth in Scotland.

Dugald MAIN: Died March 9, 1916 at Ballarat. Dugald arrived in Geelong aboard the “Star of the East” in 1854 and then settled in Ballarat. He was a builder by trade and sat on the committee of the Ballarat Orphan Asylum.

Alexander McKAY: March, 1919 at Carlton. Alexander, formerly of Mortlake, was a Scot through and through and was a keen participant in Highland games throughout the district. He was an excellent player of the pipes and excelled at the heavy lifting events of the games, such as the caber toss.

Edmond DWYER: Died March 14, 1930 at Condah. Edmond at 92, was the last of the pioneers to arrive on the “General Hewitt” in 1856. He initially went in search of gold near Beaufort at the Firey Creek diggings, before turning to road contracting at Portland. He worked the road from Portland to Hamilton for many years.

Mrs A.W. McLEAN: Died March 4, 1932 at Hotspur. Mrs McLean was a very old pioneer when she passed away in 1932. She was born in the Isle of Skye in 1838 and was a teenager when she arrived at Portland with her parents, the McDonalds, in 1853 aboard the “New Zealand“. She married Mr. A McLean in 1860 and they settled at Hotspur and raised eight children.

Mrs A FREDERICKS: Died March, 1932 at Portland. Mrs Fredericks maiden name was Jones and she was born in Portland in 1859. She first married a Mr Jennings and they had two sons, before she married Alfred Fredericks. They had a further six children.

Mrs John JACKSON: Died March 11, 1934 at Hamilton. Born in Lancashire, Mrs Jackson arrived at Portland with her parents, John and Sarah Rigby, in 1859. They settled at Heywood where she married John Jackson. They later moved to Hamilton. Mrs Jackson left a large family of 10 children, 32 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren (this was reported as 7 great great grandchildren, so they either forgot the great-grandchildren or it was meant to read great-grandchildren).

Emma HOLMES: Died March 1935 at Drik Drik. Emma was a knitter. She knitted during the Great War for the troops and later for the Methodist Babies Home at South Yarra. Emma arrived at Portland as a seven-year old in 1852. She married William Mullins and they settled at Drik Drik, with Emma considered to be the first white woman to settle there. Surely a tough time for a new bride.

Annie Gray ALEXANDER: Died March 14 1937 at Toorak. Annie Alexander was born near Beechworth around 1861. She married Henry William Witton in the early 1880s. They took up residence at Dimboola in the 1890s. After Henry’s death, Annie did something a little different to some of the pioneer women I have written of before. She published the “Dimboola Banner” newspaper until 1918.

Mrs John TRELOAR: Died March 20, 1939 at Portland. Mrs Treloar was an active member of the Myamyn community even up until months before her death at aged 90. She was born at South Portland and later married John Treloar at Myamyn where they lived out there lives. Mrs Treloar had a large family of 13, eight of whom were still living at the time of her death.

Elizabeth COLE: Died March, 1942 at Bostocks Creek. What a great pioneer Elizabeth Cole was. Born at Poplar, London in 1845, she came to Australia with her parents in the early 1850s. She married Alexander Dalziel at Lethbridge in 1862. At the time of her death, Elizabeth and Alexander had 120 descendants including 65 great-grandchildren. What got me about Elizabeth was she was that she had been a bullock driver and one with great skill. She also had memories of Eureka, could recall Lethbridge as a canvas town and the slab huts of Port Fairy and considered kangaroo a delicacy. In her later years, she enjoyed listening to that modern contraption, the wireless.

Mary MURRAY: Died March 17, 1944 at Hamilton. Mary’s father was an overseer for Edward Henty at Muntham where she was born. At the time she was the first white child born at Muntham. At some time she married Mr Hallam and had many great pioneering stories.

Jean EDGAR: Died March, 1947 at Harrow. Jean was another wonderful pioneer who had been in Victoria for 90 years. She arrived aboard the “Severn” which carried another great pioneer, the thoroughbred King Alfred, one of Australia’s early champion sires.